October 26, 1983: U.S. invades Grenada

The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year.

Wednesday, October 26, 1983

In 1983 U.S. military forces invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, taking control after a radical faction of the island's Marxist government had seized power and killed the Prime Minister.

President Ronald Reagan said the American troops were sent into Grenada to protect U.S. citizens there and to prevent the island’s use as a base for Soviet and Cuban aggression in the Western Hemisphere.

At the time, it was the largest United States military operation since Vietnam. Nineteen Americans 24 Cubans and 45 Grenadians were killed.

The U.S.-backed invasion of Grenada came just days after suicide bombers killed 241 U.S. servicemen (nearly all Marines) and 58 French peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Length of stay on isle uncertain

By George E. Condon Jr., Copley News Service

WASHINGTON — The United States, aided by troops and police from six Caribbean nations, yesterday invaded Marxist-led Grenada in a sudden military strike that left two Americans dead and 23 wounded after often-fierce battles with Grenadian and Cuban fighters.

Four hours after U.S. Marines and Army Rangers landed on the tiny eastern Caribbean island, President Reagan announced the invasion in Washington, saying it was necessary to counter “a brutal group of leftist thugs” who gained power in a bloody coup last week.

The PResident said, “We don’t know how long” U.S. troops will stay in Grenada. But he said, “We want to be out as quickly as possible.”

The President has canceled his weekend travel plans and has scheduled a television address for tomorrow night to explain the invasion to the nation.

The largest U.S. military operation since Vietnam, the invasion forces included 1,900 troops, supported by 11 U.S. warships, who struck at dawn, quickly seizing the island’s two airports and knocking the government radio station off the air.

At midday, Mr. Reagan confirmed there had been casualties, but neither the Pentagon nor the White House would offer any early figures.

Last night, the Pentagon issued a terse, three-paragraph statement saying “most objectives have been taken” during the first 12 hours of the the operation and reporting the casualty figures of two dead and 23 wounded.

By the end of the day, some sources reported the U.S. forces encountered heavier than expected resistance in parts of the 133-square-mile island and confirmed that some of the estimated 600 Cubans on Grenada fired on American troops.